Daytona II: Johnson - Friday media visit

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S IMPALA SS met with media and
discussed Mark Martin joining HMS, the economy and how it affects NASCAR,
and more. Full Transcript:
YOU'VE HAD GREAT SUCCESS AT DAYTONA. COMING UP ON TUESDAY, YOU WILL
BE SPEAKING AT...

YOU'VE HAD GREAT SUCCESS AT DAYTONA. COMING UP ON TUESDAY, YOU WILL
BE SPEAKING AT THE NATIONAL PRESS ASSOCIATION IN WASHINGTON D.C. IT IS
QUITE AN HONOR TO BE CHOSEN TO DO THAT. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE
YEAR, AND WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE TO GET ANOTHER WIN?
"I think our chances are good. We had a good practice yesterday but
it's so tough to tell. I think track position is really going to be
the most important thing. And I don't think two tires are going to
work. I think it's going to boil down to if it's a caution,
where your pit road selection is, and if you're in that first
stall, you're going to be golden. But if you qualify up front and
you're counting on green flag stops, you don't want the first
stall because you can't get back up to speed. So I think the last
pit stop or two is really going to set the field for track position. You
may be able to pass a few guys from there, but track position is really
going to be a big part of it. If you have the No. 88 or No. 24 or the No.
20, it's going to be really tough to pass them. Those guys are
really good at what they do. I really think it's going to boil down
to pit stops at the end of this thing that's going to win
it."

NOW THAT IT'S OFFICIAL, WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO HAVING MARK
MARTIN AS A NEW TEAMMATE?
"I think Mark is going to do a lot for that No. 5 team. His
knowledge and enthusiasm at his young age to still be in the car and to
build a race team (grin) and to do all that he does, he's a special
man and I'm very proud to have him on board at Hendrick
Motorsports. And I look forward to not only what he brings to that No. 5
car, but also his mindset on the sport and the way he sets up his cars
and what he looks for. There is a lot that we're going to learn
from Mark. And I'm really looking forward to the relationship and
things getting started there."

SUCCESS SEEMS TO COME IN BURSTS AT THIS LEVEL. ARE GOOD RESULTS MOSTLY
THE RESULT OF HARD WORK MEETING GOOD LUCK, OR HARD LUCK OVERCOMING BAD
LUCK?
"I think hard work keeps you in the game, but there certainly are
races where good luck sets you apart. The No. 18 had a very fast car at
Sonoma but if you didn't catch the cautions right being on pit
road, there's not a chance you would have won it. Certainly luck is
a part of it and it's not taking anything away from the performance
those guys had there, they drove a fantastic race and won the race. Hard
work keeps you in the game. Luck sets you apart on those few times a year
where it comes into play and you need it."

THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF ATTENTION ON DRIVERS AS FREE AGENTS. HOW MUCH CAN
IT AFFECT ALL FOUR TEAMS WHEN YOU BRING A NEW DRIVER IN LIKE WHAT IS
HAPPENING WITH MARK MARTIN?
"The departure of a teammate and somebody new coming in does do a
lot internally to the organization, especially when you have somebody
like Casey Mears who is so well-respected from everyone at Hendrick
Motorsports and from my standpoint, such a close friend. There is nothing
easy about that. And I don't think the decision was easy for
anyone. There were circumstances and pressures coming from other areas
that kind of made this come along. Now that we have a new teammate, when
you look at teammates you can have and who is going to bring something to
the table, and Mark Martin is that guy. Mark Martin really can bring a
lot and will help soften that transition in. We all know how pleased he
is to be a part of the company and how happy he is to drive good race
cars. You hear his interview and he says it all the time after a race how
happy he is to be driving whatever car that is and the man really means
it. And that type of sincerity and his commitment to the sport makes
those transitions easier than in most cases."

WHEN YOU LOOK AT MARK MARTIN AND HIS PHYSICAL FITNESS, IS IT AN
INSPIRATION? HE'S A BIT OF A FREAK IN TERMS OF HOW HE WORKS OUT
(LAUGHTER)
"He is (laughs). I think he's an inspiration to all of us.
And I think he makes a lot of us realize that trying to hang it up
isn't going to be easy. I remember talking to Rusty Wallace about
it and Rusty was kicking himself as it was getting down to the final
races that he ran. When I saw him and he was on the TV side and the first
six months into the season, he was going crazy. I've also talked to
Darrell Waltrip about it and Mark gives a lot of us hope that one, if you
take care of yourself you're going to be successful in this if your
mind stays sharp and if you can just keep your body with you, you can
still make it. And at the same time it also scares me because I
don't know if I'm going to be able to let go."

HOW DO YOU FEEL THE SPORT IS GOING RIGHT NOW? WHAT'S GOOD AND
WHAT'S BAD?
"Everybody has just had great things to say about everything all
year, so I don't have much to say (laughter). Thank you. I think we
have done a good job and put on great races at the tracks where we ran
the Car of Tomorrow last year. I think tracks where we have not raced
(the COT) at and now we're coming to the second time, I'm
hopeful that we put on better shows. There is a lot that we need to learn
with this car. I think the No. 48 team itself is an example of how things
can change. We were successful last year. We came into this year on the
big tracks and we've struggled. We've made progress with this
car on the big tracks, speaking for myself and the team, and I think
everyone is. And as we come back a second time, I'm hopeful that
the 1.5-mile stuff improves. I think in general we're putting on
great shows. There's a great product.

I hope the economy hits bottom and turns around and comes back, and
we're able to get the attendance and souvenir sales and all the
things that make our sport thrive. When I think about that, I also think
about the sponsors who are involved and the economy needs to turn around
to help them out. Lowe's is an amazing company, but the economy
needs to turn around to help them out. When you're in a bad
economy, it's just tough on all the sponsors. And our sport is
driven by sponsors. So we're fighting some elements as a sport
that's out of our control. I think for how strong our sport is, it
shows that we do have a good product and we do a good job each week even
though we may be our harshest critics as times. We have a great program
on that here."

IF THE ECONOMY DOESN'T TURN AROUND, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT NASCAR
CAN DO?
"The biggest thing we can do is try to show a return on investment
for our sponsors. It doesn't matter if you are a track operator or
owner or a race team owner, you just have to show a return on your
investment. I think our loyal fans continue to do that. But I feel very
lucky to drive for someone like Rick Hendrick who finds way to do
business to business deals with his sponsors to keep them in the sport
and to keep them around so when their board meetings take place and they
look at their NASCAR program, they see it as an asset that they need to
keep and don't need to cut it. But it's tough. There are a
lot of things out of our control that dictate our NASCAR sponsorship
stuff."

WITH DARIO FRANCHITTI'S CAR BEING PULLED LAST WEEK, HOW TROUBLING
IS THAT TO YOU?
"I think it reflects how tough this environment is. I hate to see
it, a top profile driver and top profile team. It really shows how lean
it is out there right now. Hopefully things turn around quick for us.
I'm sure Chip was in a tough position to continue to run three cars
and possibly turn the other two. Or, do you run two and hope to turn
things around and have a lot of success and bring new sponsors in to run
the third team again in the future. I feel lucky again that I'm
where I am. Rick does such a great job and can offer other things to
these sponsors that just what takes place on the race track. And I think
that's something that really sets Hendrick apart in these tough
times."

WHAT FUELED YOU TO GO INTO CHARITY WORK WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED YOUR
FOUNDATION?
"Growing up, there were a few team members and teammates that I had
that had been through different situations that brought my eye to the
charitable world. One thing that I think really helped me at a young age
was in the Mickey Thompson Stadium Racing Series, they would take a
couple of drivers from each division and we'd go in a daily early
and go to a local children's hospital. And that experience at a
young age, kids didn't have a clue who I was, but they knew who
Ivan Stewart was and Walker Evans and these top-named guys who were
there, but to watch these kids smile and to see the impact we could make
even just walking down the hallways, opened my eyes to it.

I've supported a lot of different charities growing up. What really
brought it all together was Kyle and Patti (Petty) sitting Chani and I
down and talking to us about it. They said hey, you guys are doing a
great job but it if you want to do more, this is how you do it. When they
kind of laid it out for us, it made a lot of sense. We hit the ground
running. It's been extremely rewarding. At the same time,
we're in a high profile situation where you have to run a first
class operation and we spend a lot of time with the foundation. We really
do. It is extremely rewarding. But it certainly takes a lot of hours to
do it and you've got to be committed to running a foundation.
That's something that we're willing to step up to the
challenge and have done a good job with that. But you can't go
wrong. Even it it's at a local level or supporting something that
you're close to, to a national level and things that we're
trying to do. It all makes a difference."